1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved method for calibrating a line-of-sight infrared (IR) scanning system and, more particularly, to a calibration method that provides a correction factor for use in establishing the IR sensor line-of-sight at the time of peak sensor output in response to a target.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in certain line-of-sight IR systems, IR sensor data is time sampled with only a peak sensor output available for data processing. In such systems, if not accurately calibrated, the line-of-sight to target data may not be accurate due to a lack of precision in determining the scanning position. In the prior art, such systems have been calibrated by scanning the IR sensor past a point source calibration target (e.g. a continuous laser) located at a known position with respect to the IR sensor. As the image of the IR point source is scanned past the IR sensor, any deviation between the line-of-sight indicated by the scan data when the IR peak occurs and the known line-of-sight to the calibration target is used to generate a factor to calibrate the system. However, such prior art calibration systems cannot determine precisely where, as the calibration target scans across the IR sensor field of view, the IR sensor peak output occurs.